Can't help you 'cause I only shoot handloads in my .357 1894. However, good post -- I'll be interested in what factory-rounds hunters are using.

 

I will eventually start loading for the 357 when I finally get around to setting up my reloading kit again. 2 moves, no primers or powers, etc have gotten in the way. For now I’ll look for a decent factory loading to tide me over.

 

What are you planning to hunt with your .357 1894?

 

My Marlin/Ruger 357 Mag won't feed Double Tap's 180 gr bullets, but has no problem with the 200 gr. I was able to single feed the 180s.

The 180 gr had a velocity of 1780 fps and the 200 gr was 1640.

 

Thanks, good to know. Have you taken much game with the 180 or 200 grain Double Taps?

I haven’t yet tried to cycle or fire the DT 180’s I have. You are getting about 300 fps faster than my 6” Gp100 and it hits hard out of the revolver. I dropped an elk with that combo at 30 yards. Not that I’ll be hunting elk with the carbine, but it should have plenty of punch for deer out to 175-200 yards with little bullet drop.

 

The .357 carbine is obviously not a .270 or 30/06. That said, given reasonable ranges and good bullet placement, the .357 carbine is a decent whitetail deer killer. My experience with the 158 grain XTP has been good. I am sure that other well designed .357 bullets would work just as well.

 

What are you planning to hunt with your .357 1894?

In the last week or two, I’ve taken a couple feral hogs, a couple blackbuck doe and a possum. I was seriously thinking about taking an oryx with it but the opportunity didn’t happen.

I’ll probably take it on hog, coyote, deer, pronghorn and javelina hunts.

The .357 carbine is obviously not a .270 or 30/06. That said, given reasonable ranges and good bullet placement, the .357 carbine is a decent whitetail deer killer. My experience with the 158 grain XTP has been good. I am sure that other well designed .357 bullets would work just as well.

All the whitetail I have taken were at 180-ish yards or less but the mule deer have been out to 230+ yards. Generally, because of the longer ranges, I carry a 308 or 338.

I haven’t had the best results using .44 magnum pistol bullets in my 444 Marlin with factory or hand loads. I know the 357 carbine is “only” adding 300-500 fps vs 800-1000 fps with the 444M. I’m posting this thread because I want to avoid my mistakes.

How have the Hornady XTPs worked for you? I don’t have any experience with the XTP, but I’ve heard mixed results. Aren’t there a couple different designs of XTPs?

 

Actually I might use the 357 pistol again for elk. There is a over the counter depredation elk HAM hunt near me. I don’t have a muzzle loader. Not sure my hand can draw an elk bow anymore. But this is a different story…

 

That American Eagle 158 grain JSP is a great 357 factory load and would use it in a deer rifle without reservation. It's pretty spicy from a 357 snub, too.

This used to be the Federal 357A but was re-marketed under the AE brand several years ago.

 

Impressive for a short barrel. I’m going to have to drag my crono out. They grouped very well out of the Marlin so I decided to use them. They shoot pretty flat out of the Marlin.

 

As I understand Federal Hammer Down 357mag 170gr is truly optimized for rifles. The powder they use needs a long rifle barrel to generate velocity. So, good chance, Hammer Down is a poor choice for handgun hunting.

Swift bullets loads some nice 357 Mag handgun hunting ammo. I've used Swift loaded ammo in other calibers for successful hunting and recommend their loaded ammo.

 

I was planning on shooting the hammer down ammo but the American eagle shot so well, I haven’t tried em yet.

I really like swift A-frames and Siroccos but I think their factory ammo is loaded rather anemic. Especially for the price.

 

From what Dusty Sanchez has reported, he's getting around 1,790 fps with the Double Tap 180-grainers from an 18" barrel. My handload duplicates this as I also use a gas-checked 180-grain cast with a wide meplat (from Montana Bullets) and get 1.785 fps from my 1894C according to my chrony (15.0 grains of Hodgdon Lil' Gun). I can report that I've killed a number of deer with this load, the most recent being a doe at 80 yards that dropped on the spot. I said in my original response that I couldn't help with factory-loaded recommendations, but, turns out I can in the sense that I'm shooting Double Tap ammo and didn't know it (so to speak). Since my handloads are essentially the same as the Double Taps, and my 180-grain cast handloads have performed well (a bit better results than I was getting with the Hornady 158-grain XTP Flat Point at 1,845 fps), I can recommend the 180-grain Double Tap factory ammo.

 

There has been some comment on the use of premium bullets in the slower cartridges. The 30 30 is faster than a 357 and some feel that the plain cup and core work just as well. It's possible in the 357 the same situation exists. The 170 hammer down sounds intriguing.

DEP

 

I’m not going to disagree. There are cup and core bullets that out preform premium bullets. However, the 357 has been known to have jacket separation and fragmentation issues (although I don’t think those issues are always bad). I don’t know if that is because those bullets are designed for the 38 special and can’t handle 50-100% more power out of a rifle?

 

The bullets I am talking about are the ones like the A frames
And so forth. Barnes copper are spendy and I like them in my 6.5 Creedmoor. At its velocity levels they hold up and are worth it to me. For the 30 30 I am not so excited about them. There are bullets like the soft points as used in the Federal Eagles that work well. Not saying it does pay to be selective but some of the premium names come with premium prices but my not give any extra performance. Higher velocity rifles are another game.

DEP

 

[QUOTE="Darkcloud, post: 8951857, member: 155055"
How have the Hornady XTPs worked for you? I don’t have any experience with the XTP, but I’ve heard mixed results. Aren’t there a couple different designs of XTPs?
[/QUOTE]

They have worked well although I have to confess that I have never recovered one. All my shots have been pass throughs with very decent blood trails. I bet the bullets from other bullet makers work just fine but Hornady XTPs are what I find for sale around here. Incidentally, I use the XTP 158 grain hollow point. Contrary to rumor, it does not blow up on impact when fired out of carbines and I have never found a separated jacket. These days, I concern myself more with my shooting and hunting skills than adding another 100 FPS to my hand loads. I find my 1894 to be a great deer stand gun.

 

I've used Barnes Pioneer 180 grain bullets with good results on paper with my Henry 357. The bullet is labeled as a solid hollow point---a jacketed hollow point by the looks of it. I was not able to use it hunting after sighting in. The barrel is 20inches. I plan trying this same cartridge in my new Marlin SBL to see how it prints on paper. I would expect a slightly lower speed but I don't have a chronograph to test out of each barrel length, so it's just a guess at this point.